Category: Exit-Scam

This is an unusual case even for the crisis-ridden crypto community: After the exit scam of the South Korean ICO Pure Bit, the founders show themselves purified and now want to compensate their victims.

It sounds like the news spy plot for a bad thriller

After the founders of the Pure Bit crypto exchange collected about 30 million US dollars in ether at the beginning of November, the news spy decided against the promised foundation and instead donated 13,000 ETH instead. The founder closed all social media groups and left the unsuspecting victims with the message “I’m sorry”. But that was not all. After only two weeks, the news spy founder apparently changed his mind and wanted to repay the stolen ether.

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New Korean exchange Pure Bit just pulled an exit scam claiming 13,000ETH from its investors as we speak. Kakao channels are emptying and the site has been pulled.

This is why we can’t have nice things. Karma comes back hard when you screw this many people over.

Then the turnaround
It is true that the case had caused little stir in this country. In South Korea, however, Pure Bit called all major media as well as the investigating authorities into action after the exit scam. This circumstance, as well as the sheer height of the stolen property, now seems to have moved the founders of the ICO to their 180-degree turn. As the news platform BlockchainROK announced via Twitter, the founder made a statement in the course of public pressure on 15 November. In it he shows himself purified and announces the exit of the exit:

The wording of the statement reads like this:

“This is Pure Bit speaking. First of all, I would like to apologize to everyone who was affected by the ICO. Since 5 November I have collected 16,000 ETH and not opened a crypto exchange as promised. I threw all my customers out of our social media chat groups and disappeared without a message. This has had a negative psychological and financial impact on investors.”

and further:

“I made an unforgivable mistake that cannot be undone, blinded by money. Less than a day has passed and I have already begun to suffer from feelings of guilt. Although it cannot be compared to the plight of the investors, I also felt a considerable guilt. I sincerely apologize to all of the ICO’s investors who were affected by the incident.”

It is unclear whether the founder, driven by remorse, rowed back or collapsed under broad public pressure. Investors should nevertheless be pleased. Pure Bit’s memory of one of the most curious exit scams in recent history is probably the only thing left of it.